In what is likely to be heartbreaking news for music lovers, the Coachella and Stagecoach festivals are both canceled due to concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision was announced Wednesday in an official Order from the Health Officer of Riverside County, Doctor Cameron Kaiser, who explained that the festivals’ 2020 events were hereby canceled due to concerns surrounding a “fall resurgence” of coronavirus both in the county and around the world.
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County officials have been in contact with Goldenvoice, which operates both the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Stagecoach Festival 2020. https://t.co/CBemsKWU2d View PH order: https://t.co/sCoPfUa6Km #RivCoNow pic.twitter.com/GNqq6rVddK
— Dr. Cameron Kaiser (@RivCoDoc) June 11, 2020
“Both the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and the Stagecoach Country Music Festival are music concerts and gatherings of international scope, attracting hundreds of thousands of attendees from many countries, including several disproportionately afflicted by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic,” the order explains.
According to the order, if coronavirus were to be detected at one or both of these festivals, the number of attendees, as well as the open-concept layout of the venues, would make it “infeasible, if not impossible, to track those who may be placed at risk.”
Coachella was initially meant to take place from April 10 to 12 and April 17 to 19. However, when conditions surrounding the coronavirus outbreak intensified, the festival was rescheduled to occur on October 9, 10, and 11 and October 16, 17, and 18.
The lineups for both weekends were set to feature some big names, including Travis Scott, 21 Savage, Flume, Frank Ocean, Lana Del Rey, Calvin Harris.
Similarly, Stagecoach was also rescheduled for the fall and was set to take place on October 23, 24, and 25 with massive headlining artists including Carrie Underwood, Thomas Rhett, and Eric Church.
— Stagecoach Festival (@Stagecoach) March 10, 2020
“Events like Coachella and Stagecoach would fall under Governor Newsom’s Stage 4,
which he has previously stated would require treatments or a vaccine to enter,” Kaiser stated in a press release. “Given the projected circumstances and potential, I would not be comfortable moving forward.”
Kaiser continues that he realizes these decisions will likely not be taken lightly but that his first priority lies with ensuring the safety and well-being of the community.
“After consulting with our public health officials and local leaders from the City of Indio and
Goldenvoice, and with continued importance on public health, it was decided that postponing the concert series was appropriate and necessary,” Fourth District Supervisor and Chair on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors V. Manuel Perez stated in the release.
Neither Coachella nor Stagecoach organizers have issued official statements as of yet.
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